Our route took us along dirt roads through areas of low intensity agriculture (mainly corn, guava and manioc) and rough pasture following the Guapiaçu river and we hadn't been going long when I saw an unfamiliar dark raptor with rufous under wing-coverts pass low of the van. It landed in a palm on the opposite bank of the river but was distant, largely obscured and we were looking into the sun. It was clearly something interesting but we couldn't get any closer for better views, and not wanting to arrive at Sitio Rosimery too late we drove on. A few minutes later we found two more, again on the opposite bank, but this time giving better views. A narrow white band on the rump and white vent, contrasting with the almost black plumage, rufous wing coverts and 'trousers' were distinctive, but we just couldn't put a name to it. Luckily I managed some reasonable record shots and we were able to clinch the ID back at the lodge as Harris's Hawk - a rare bird locally, so much so that it was a lifer for Adilei as well as me! We were surprised to have seen three birds, but later found out that Harris's Hawks hunt in groups and so were probably moving together.
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| One of the three Harris's Hawks seen near REGUA today and my second lifer of this trip (click to enlarge) |
Other open country birds seen on route include 2 Savanna Hawk, lots of Southern Caracara, Southern Lapwing, a Yellow-bellied Elaenia, 1 White-rumped Monjita, 3 Chalk-browed Mockingbird, several Grassland Sparrow and Blue-black Grassquit, as well as flocks of the introduced Common Waxbill.
On arrival at Sitio Rosimery 2 Plain Parakeet and 3 Channel-billed Toucan showed. Once we'd negotiated the obligatory yapping dogs we started out along the trail, where a small mixed-species flock produced an Eye-ringed Tody-Tyrant, 1 White-throated Spadebill, 5 Flame-crested Tanager, several Green-headed Tanager and 1m Orange-bellied Euphonia, before the distinctive whistle of a Thrush-like Schiffornis eventually led to fantastic views of this charismatic bird (which unfortunately was too quick for the camera).
The trail was fairly quiet with only small flocks encountered, but we still logged 2 more (1H) Thrush-like Schiffornis, 1 Black-tailed Tityra, 1 Surucua Trogon, 1-2 Reddish Hermit, 1-2 Rufous-winged Antwren, 1m White-flanked Antwren, 3(2m, 1f) Unicoloured Antwren, 1 Rufous-breasted Leaftosser, 1 Plain-winged Woodcreeper, 1 Lesser Woodcreeper, 2 Black-capped Foliage-gleaner, 1 White-eyed Foliage-gleaner, 1-2 Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, 2 Yellow-olive Flycatcher, 1 Sepia-capped Flycatcher, 1f White-bearded Manakin, several Blue Manakin, 3 Black-capped Becard, 1 Yellow-legged Thrush, 1m Ruby-crowned Tanager, 1f Yellow-backed Tanager, a pair of Chestnut-vented Conebill and 1f Violaceous Euphonia. Best of all though was a very showy Southern Antpipit that conveniently perched up on an exposed branch singing. A few good birds were also heard along the trail including Black Hawk-Eagle, Black-cheeked Gnateater, Rufous-capped Antthrush, Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Yellow-green Grosbeak.
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| Southern Antpipit might look like a pipit but they are actually a terrestrial tyrant- flycatcher. You can frequently hear them bill snapping as they forage for insects on the forest floor. One of the advantages of the Canon EOS 7D DSLR is the ability to shoot in very low light without flash. This image was captured at 1/30 second on ISO-2500. |
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| Ochre-bellied Flycatchers are actually almost entirely frugivorous. During the breeding season they do take insects but by gleening them from vegetation rather than traditional 'flycatching'. Some manakins 'gleen' fruit in this way and this, together with the lekking behaviour shown by Ochre-bellied Flycatcher suggests there is an evolutionary link to manakins. |
We very occasionally find evidence of hunting in the Atlantic Forest while birding at REGUA and elsewhere, but today we actually came face to face with a hunter in full camo gear and carrying a 23 calibre rifle. We didn't know what to expect but he was very friendly and stopped to chat for about 20 minutes, telling us where the various small trails led to and explaining that later in year the forest here was very good for Bare-throated Bellbird. Hunting is illegal in Brazil and the sign at the entrance to Sitio Rosimery states no hunting, but it is accepted culturally and very difficult to police. The hunter claimed he was carrying the rifle in case he encountered a Puma, but Adilei, an ex-hunter himself, explained that this calibre is typically used for small mammals such as Paca and agouti. To further illustrate the extent of the problem, we later also removed two mammal traps that Adilei found here on his previous visit.
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| Mammal cages found at Sitio Rosimery. This type of cage is typically used to catch small mammals such as opossums, armadillos and agoutis. The traps are baited and have a one-way trap door to prevent the poor animal escaping. |
On the journey back to REGUA we added a Laughing Falcon, 2 Limpkin, several Guira Cuckoo, 6 Burrowing Owl, another White-rumped Monjita and 8 Chopi Blackbird. A quick look around an area of scrub where Adilei has seen Streamer-tailed Tyrant in the past produced 2 Rufous-fronted Thornbird, 2 Short-crested Flycatcher and a long dead Laughing Falcon. We had a great day out to a very interesting patch of very good quality lowland forest, and I'm definitely going to try and get back to Sitio Rosimery again in the future.
Sounds good and so near to base which excellent.
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